Worried about getting in a swimming costume

Maybe it is the long term exposure to chlorine but swimmer don't notice anything....a guy I work with swims almost everyday and a woman I work with was always joking about him wearing a speedo...non swimmers get the giggles about men wearing speedos...swimmers don't get it because we can't figure out what else he would wear.

My point (and I think I have one) is swimmers don't care. Put on your suit and get in the pool and you too won't care....you will just love how it makes you feel.

The very few shallow gym goes who would comment about someone won't get in a pool because after a few laps everyone looks like a drowned cat.

I recently started swimming again and had the same worries. Many pools/gyms track attendence by the hour for marketing purposes. You could always check with them and see when the least amount of people go and then go at that time to slowly build confidence. Also, at my pool, many older people go very early in the morning and I felt more comfortable initially swimming at that time, then slowly eased myself into the busier times. They tended to be less judgmental of my body and were much friendlier.

Honestly, some people may stare, but I always try to remind myself that I'm doing this for me and that I have just as much of a right to try to get healthy as they do. F-them, you know? Once my head is down in the water and I'm monitoring my breathing, they totally fall out of view. The chances of me running into these people again are slim. It also pushes me to be the fat girl that's swimming faster than all of them. :happy: Was this confidence instantaneous? No. Am I normally a confident person? Not in the slightest. Did it take a long time to build it up? Yes.

Though I couldn't really afford it, I splurged on a new swimsuit that I loved, felt confident wearing and that was cut in a way that most flattered my body. I considered it an investment in me. Without the confidence I was less likely to go to the pool, which was a bigger waste of money than buying a new suit.

I see ALOT of extremely obese people in the pool and I never think anything of it. (not saying you are obese) no one stares. no one makes a deal of it. swimming is AWESOME for the joints and great exercise. don't be too hard on yourself. one day, that swimsuit will be TOO LARGE!

That was one of my first NSV's. The day I had to buy a smaller swimsuit was wonderful!

noone wil care!

+1

The other people at the pool came to work out, not to gawk at you. People who think they are miraculously slimmer in street clothes are wrong. You are the size you are and people see that regardless of what you are wearing. Jump into the swimwear, strut yourself over to the water proudly knowing that in a relatively short time you will be smaller, and people who are not doing what you do, will not be! You go!

Go get your swim on. It will make you feel good and be good for you. You will look however you look. No one cares. Really. Swimming is not about how you look in the suit it is how it makes you feel.

I'm a big girl and I love to go swimming. The thing is I am not there for anyone but me. I don't care what other people think about how I look in my bathing suit. Besides, I always think that even if people are looking at me and going eww gross why is she in a swimsuit; my mental response can be well at least I'm not sitting on my couch chowing down on chips or something. I am doing something about it! When I go to the pool I am not even the largest person there most times. Judging by your pic, you are way smaller than me, so don't worry about it. Go swim and get healthy!! You'll see that pretty soon you will feel more confident because you are working hard and you won't care because swimming feels so amazing!

That has got to be the best response on this topic. You should care less about what others think than about your wellbeing (easy said, but not so easily done I appreciate).

For me I still have the impression that people see the old me when they see me with a shirt off or in swimmers. But now I think ... "I don't care about that, I am doing this to get a better me, and that's what counts."

Be strong, be positive, and great things will follow.

At the start of my weight loss I decided swimming and walking were the best options for me, like you and loads of people on here, I chickened out when I put the swim suit on the fit was very snug. I decided to bite the bullet and I now go to a session four times a week. Has anyone made a comment - no, has anyone laughed at me - no. You tend to have 2 types of people going swimming those like me doing it for weight/health and those who are just very good swimmers and do their own thing. The first time is hard but please do it after 2 months I've made friends and don't even think about walking in the pool oh and the snug swimsuits fits nicely now you never know I might drop a size or 2 soon:)

I take my daughter to swimming lessons every week at our rec center, and there is an adult "aqua aerobics" class at the same time. There is not a woman in that class under 200 pounds. They all seem to be having a great time socializing and "aquasizing" to the Beatles.

I promise you won't be the biggest person there.

My aquasize class has a nice variety of people. We have a good mix of about 1/3 men, 2/3 women and have people from very slim and toned to very large (I am on the larger side but not the biggest there). Some do the entire class sitting on a noodle because their knees can't take any impact and I have seen a couple of those go from the noodle to doing low impact with only the water for support.

Whether you swim laps, do an exercise class, or jump in the pool and tread water for 30 minutes, the pool is a wonderful way to get moving!